A green corridor along Tata-Kandra Road

- Around 1200 saplings to be planted on divider of widened 15km stretch

KUMUD JENAMANI

The barren divider along Tata-Kandra Road, which will soon get an eco-friendly makeover. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

The Tata-Kandra widening project has hit the green road.

Jharkhand Accelerated Road Development Company Limited (JARDCL), the construction agency that is executing the ambitious project to develop the 15km stretch into four lanes, has decided to undertake a massive plantation drive along the artery.

Senior manager of the agency Vinod Tripathy confirmed the plans that envisage planting of saplings on the divider. “Initially, there was no such plan when the project kicked off. But then we thought why not make the stretch environment-friendly and a visual delight for the commuters,” said Tripathy.

According to a JARDCL official, about 1,200 saplings will be planted during the pre-monsoon period on the divider. Necessary spadework will begin soon.

“Though there is very little space for planting trees on the divider snaking along Tata-Kandra Road, we still intend to go by the plan. We will remove the tiles from the surface of the divider and plant the saplings. The company will soon make necessary arrangements like procuring water tankers and hiring workers etc,” said the official, adding that this was the ideal time to go for the plantation drive.

Once the job is done, the plants will be maintained by JARDCL for the next 15 years.

But Tata-Kandra Road is not new to the green look. There was a thick bed of shrubs and plants along most part of the road before the widening project kicked off. JARDCL cut down over 1,000 trees to get more space.

The 15km stretch looks barren now with commuters yearning for some green view.

Roadside vendor Subal Chandra Mahto, who has been running his tea stall in Adityapur along Tata-Kandra Road for the last 20 years, agreed.

“People may have got a better road than what was there earlier. But with the summer season at its peak, pedestrians are finding it difficult to walk under the scorching sun with no green cover,” said Mahto.

He added the trees would not only offer a green cover, but would also be soothing to the eye.